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Intramural players have shot at nationals

By Patrick Eland

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

As the intramural flag football season end draws near, teams have an opportunity to extend their seasons and compete on a national level for flag football greatness.

There are two intramural organizations that offer national championships for flag football. The first organization is the American Collegiate Intramural Sports, and the second is the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association.

Teams travel to a regional tournament to compete in regionals. Then the top two teams from each regional get a trip to the national tournament paid for, and compete for the national championship of intramural flag football.

Last year Kansas had a co-rec flag football team that decided to extend its season and test its skills against the top teams in the nation.

The Fighting Seans, as they called themselves once their original team name was deemed too inappropriate, traveled to a regional tournament after blowing through the competition here at Kansas. The team went 7-0 and won the Kansas intramural co-rec flag football championship.

After taking home the championship at Kansas, the team took its game on the road to represent the University at the ACIS regional tournament at University of Nebraska.

“We didn’t really know what to expect,” Lenexa senior Sean Allshouse said. Allshouse is team captain and the inspiration for the team name. “We thought we would just take a trip to Nebraska and have fun for a weekend.”

The Fighting Seans were renamed Team Kansas for the regional tournament. It was placed into a three-team pool for pool play, with the top two teams advancing to bracket play. Team Kansas made it out of pool play after going 1-1, losing to the host school Nebraska.

In the first round of bracket play Team Kansas faced an experienced North Texas team that had been to the postseason before.

“They had plays and stuff and were organized, unlike us,” Allshouse said with a chuckle.

Team Kansas won the matchup on a touchdown pass that it later named the “double ally-oop.” On the last play of the first half, it was down 8-0 and threw a pass to the end zone where a male Kansas player caught it, while in mid-air, threw it to another guy, who then threw it to a girl. The girl on the team caught it and put Kansas up 9-8, because girls’ touchdowns are worth nine points to a guy’s six points in co-rec flag football. The game ended with the score locked at 9-8 as Kansas moved on to the finals. Team Kanssas faced Nebraska once again and lost, but was still going on a free trip to the national tournament in New Orleans.

Kansas was one of ten teams at the NCIS national tournament. It had a strong showing in pool play, as the team came out with a 2-0 record and earned itself a first round bye in bracket play.

In the semifinals, it faced the same North Texas team it had played in Lincoln. North Texas had to pay its way to New Orleans, since it did not place in the top two oat regionals and merit a free ride to nationals.

North Texas was able to get the better of Kansas in the second meeting as Kansas was knocked out of the tournament. North Texas moved on to the championship where it won over Nebraska by a score of 16-10 to be named the 2008 ACIS flag football national champions.

Even though there wasn’t any consolation game, Team Kansas likes to say that it got third place at nationals since it had already played and beaten the team in the other semifinal matchup.

“We played the consolation game in pool play,” Topeka senior Nick Tobaben said. “We beat them once, we could do it again.”

Kansas players came home with a bitter taste in their mouths, but brought with them a very memorable experience. They got a free trip to New Orleans, and got to ring in the new year on the famous Bourbon Street of New Orleans.

“Most of us were in our senior year,” Tobaben said. “So we were just going out to have a good time.”

This season The Fighting Seans are back, but they only return five players from the previous year. However, The team has kept up its winning ways as it is 3-0 going into the playoffs this year.

Allshouse and Tobaben said that they will wait and see how this year’s tournament goes at Kansas before the team decides whether or not it will go to the regional tournament again this year.

— — Edited by Tim Burgess

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